The Letters Of Horace Walpole Vol I

from whence they are generally raised to the Cardinalate. After a time, not being promoted as he expected, he resigned his post, and retired to a mountain where he built a most magnificent hermitage. There he inhabited for two years, grew tired, came back and received the hat.
Other feuds have been between Cardinal Portia3 and the father of Benedict the Thirteenth4, by whom he was made Cardinal. About a month ago, he was within three votes of being Pope; he did not apply to any party, but went gleaning privately from all, and of a sudden burst out with a number, but too soon, and that threw him quite out. Having been since left out of their meetings, he asked one of the Benedictine Cardinals the reason, who replied that he never had been their friend and never should be of their assemblies, and did not even hesitate to call him apostate. This flung Portia into such a rage that he spit blood, and instantly left the Conclave with all his baggage. But the great cause of their antipathy to him was, his having been one of the four that voted for putting Coscia to death, who now regains his interest, and may prove somewhat disagreeable to his enemies: whose honesty is not abundantly heavier than his own. He met Corsini t'other day, and told him, he heard his Eminence had a mind to his cell: Corsini answered he was very well contented with that he had. Oh! says Coscia, I don't mean here in the Conclave, but in the Castle St. Angelo.
With all these animosities, one is near having a Pope. Cardinal Gotto5, an old inoffensive Dominican, without any
3 Leandro, of the family of the Counts Porzia; 'Benedictin,Venitien de Itionl, de haute naissance, d'tm tres grand merite, efc d'une egale consideration; 1'esprit noble et eleve, fenne, severe, grand justicier, im-pitoyable pour la canaille, sujet tres-papable et capable de retablir le bon ordre dans Rome. II seroit naturel
WALPOLE. 1
qn'on jetat lesyeuxsur lui; probable-ment le fera-t-on; mais il est fort hai' du menu peuple, qui Tappelle: H nemico delpovero.' (De Brosses.)
* Of the Orsini family; d. 1725.
0 ' Jacobin; il a quelque science monacale, assez de pi£fc6 et pen. de credit. Dependant on en parle pour le conclave; mais cela ne peut fitre